Gut related complaints affect 60-70 million people in the US costing nearly 40 billion dollars in primary care visits alone, excluding procedures and specialists evaluations. Even minor digestive complaints are associated with more time of work and a decreased quality of life. Minor digestive complaints are indicative of low levels of inflammation in the gut, which can contribute to other disorders systemically in which inflammation plays a role. Digestive complaints increase systemic levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF alpha. See Zak-Golab et al., 2013, International Journal of Endocrinology: 1-9, Article ID 674106. These mediators of inflammation are implicated in fatigue, weight gain, auto-immune conditions, depression and others. Interventions that can effectively treat gut based inflammation have far reaching implications in patient care management.
Many digestive complaints may be the result of dysbiosis, a microbial imbalance in the gastrointestinal tract. Dysbiosis is a state in which the microbiota produces harmful effects via: (1) qualitative and quantitative changes in the intestinal flora itself; (2) changes in their metabolic activities; and (3) changes in their local distribution. Factors such as antibiotics, psychological and physical stress, and certain dietary components have been found to contribute to intestinal dysbiosis. These factors result in alterations in bacterial metabolism, as well as the overgrowth of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. It is believed the growth of these bacteria in the intestines results in the release of potentially toxic products that play a role in many chronic and degenerative diseases, including irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis. See Hawrelak et al., 2004, Altern Med Rev 9(2):180-197.
There is, accordingly, a need for a simple, effective treatment that can alleviate dysbiosis and its role in chronic and degenerative diseases, without the complication of side effects.